1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet material stacking apparatus provided on, for example, a bank note checking machine and configured to allow bank notes to be stacked there.
2. Description of the Related Art
The bank note checking machine includes various kinds of detecting devices and is adapted to, by moving the bank notes past these detecting devices, decide them as being a recirculatable fit note, a noncirculatable unfit note or a reject note, counterfeit and illegible. Those bank notes decided as being recirculatable are stacked in a fit note stacking device, those bank notes decided as being nonrecirculatable are stacked in an unfit note stacking device and those notes decided as being reject notes, counterfeit and illegible, are stacked in a reject note stacking device.
As shown, for example, in JPN PAT APPLN KOKAI PUBLICATION NO. 2001-48394, the fit and unfit bank note stacking apparatus have a rotatable blade-type runner configured to allow the bank note which is conveyed to enter into a blade-to-blade space for guidance. Such a sheet material guided through the rotation of the runner has its leading edge abutted against a scraping-out plate to allow the sheet to be scraped out of the blade-to-blade space of the runner and dropped down in a stacking box. When a predetermined number of (for example, 100) sheets are stacked within the stacking box, those stacked sheets are sent out onto a sealing section where they are sealed in a bundle.
Incidentally, the sheet which enters into the blade-to-blade space of the runner will sometimes fly out of the blade-to-blade space before it reaches the scraping-out plate. In this case, there is a risk that the sheet will not be stacked within the stacking box.
In the prior art apparatus, however, even if those bank notes are not stacked within the stacking box, they are counted as being stacked and conveyed to the next-stage sealing section where, in such a state as not to reach 100 sheets, these sheets are sealed in a bundle. Thus a problem arises with which there is no coincidence between the number of bank notes counted by the bank note checking machine and the number of bank notes sealed in a bundle.